PARIS - On behalf of France and the United Kingdom (U.K.), OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière d'ARmement) has awarded the Maritime Mine Counter Measures (MMCM) contract to Thales Underwater Systems, in collaboration with BAE Systems and their partners in France (ECA) and in the U.K. (ASV, Wood & Douglas, SAAB UK).
Initiated in 2010 under the Lancaster House cooperation agreement between France and the United Kingdom (the Participating States), the MMCM program will develop a prototype/ demonstrator autonomous unmanned system for detection and neutralization of sea mines and underwater improvised explosive devices.
The opportunity for cooperation between France and the U.K. in MMCM initially emerged through participation within the European Defence Agency on requirement definition.
The French-U.K. MMCM contract covers the development, production, qualification and initial support of two identical MMCM prototype/demonstrators based on off-board unmanned systems deployed at a standoff distance from mother ships.
The first stage of the contract, which has been signed, covers a 15 month-long study, definition and design phase worth about 22 M€ ($23.6 million) that is equally funded by each Participating State. The Contract also secures firm prices for two optional tranches, which, if exercised by OCCAR at the request of the Participating States, will cover Manufacture and Qualification and a period of support for evaluation of the systems by the Marine Nationale and the Royal Navy.
Industry, Participating States' and OCCAR-EA teams during the Contract Signature ceremony on 27 March
For France, the MMCM project is a core building block of the larger "Système de lutte anti-mines futur" (SLAMF) program aiming at renewing anti-mine warfare capabilities after 2020. For the UK, the MMCM project contributes to the Mine countermeasures and Hydrographic Capability (MHC) program.
The OCCAR-EA MMCM Program Division is located in Paris.
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